The Damned
by blackdeathflame
Summary: Follow the life of a young boy raised by Team Rocket as he learns his place in the world. Will he follow the teachings of his teacher's and continue the Rocket name, or will he be influenced by those he meets during his jobs and take hold of the mantle of Justice.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

"Come on honey, you can do this," Zachary said as he held his wife's hand. Carrie was laid in the bed with her legs held up. Her hair was frizzled and her shirt stuck to her chest. "Just do what the doctor tells you and push."

"Oh no," Carrie said. "I'll just leave the little bastard stuck up in my uterus so I can continue to feel the wonders of child birth. It truly is the best thing anyone can ever feel."

"E-eh, um, excuse me," the doctor at the end of the bed interrupted, taken aback by the attitude and personalities of the two people who were in the room. "Mrs. Sandrine, I-I understand that this quite difficult and painful for you, b-but could you please try to refrain from acting like that? I-it's just-"

"It's not Misses anything," Carrie said, immediately cutting off any conversation with the doctor. "I'm not married yet, and won't be for another four months. In fact this child wasn't even," she stopped talking to let out a long groan as another contraction passed by. "Why didn't you wear a condom? Does seeing me in this pain turn you on, you sick fuck?"

"You're the one who said that I shouldn't wear one," Zachary retorted with an uncomfortable smile. He hated when she talked like that. Sure he could understand her pain, but he never really saw the point in using such language. He just hoped that she wouldn't use it in front of their child.

There was a pause as Carrie continued to pant and groan as contractions came and went. When there was time for her to reply she said, "Oh sure, listen to the woman who was completely drunk. That's called rape, you asshole."

Zachary cringed at her choice of words and even more so when another contraction came by and she really squeezed down on his hands. He was sure he felt one of his fingers dislocate itself. "One. You had one glass of Shuckle Berry Wine. I've seen you drink a bottle of tequila and still be fine. You can't blame me for this. I think you were just to exc-"

Once more the conversation was cut off by a scream from Carrie. This time it was the doctor who spoke first. "I-it's crowning. I can see the head. Come on, just a few more pushes and we can get this baby out of you."

The pain ridden woman continued to scream as a small being was exiting her vagina. To compensate with the pain she did squeezed her lover's hand so tightly that she broke his pinky and dislocated his ring and middle fingers. The nurses rushed to her side and held her down, to try and prevent her from wiggling her way out of the pain.

"That's it dear, you're almost done. Just a few more good pushes," Zachary said in his calm voice. It was so quiet and soothing that it was inaudible to those in the room as it was drowned out by the screaming Carrie was making, and just like he said, with just a few extra pushed the baby popped right on out and into the doctor's hands.

Riddled with joy from excreting the small sized human from her womb, and the relief that the large pain was gone, Carrie reached out and pulled her lover down and kissed him passionately. She hadn't felt that alive in a long time, but of course it could also be due to the fact that she had lost a lot of blood from the deliverance. A nurse came by during the couple's deep embracement of love and celebration to inject a needle into her arm.

"Where are you taking my baby?" Carrie yelled and pushed Zachary to the floor when she saw the doctor carry the baby out the door.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but it seems like there is some sort of problem with your baby that we did not pick up upon prior to the birth. He must be taken into intensive care before his condition worsens," the doctor said, in an uncharacteristic calmness that he did not show before or during the birth, and then quickly walked out the room with a small crying infant in his arms.

"Don't worry dear," a Nurse Joy said as she approached the couple. "Are doctors are very competent. There is no need to worry about your child. I'm sure he will survive and live a healthy life. Now why don't you just lay back and relax, you have been through a lot today and need your rest. Mr. Sandrine can stay with you, of course, as he would not be able to watch the operation. I'm sorry, it's just protocol."

Zachary sat down on the chair near the bed and let out a large gasp of air. He looked over at his panicking wife and patted her hand, the one that still clutched his like a bear trap. "They said not to worry, dear. Everything will be alright."

"Alright my ass," Carrie spat. "I want my child in my arms now. The only thing he needs is a good hug from his mother and everything will be fine."

"T-that's not how these things work."

"You think I don't know that? I'm terrified. I want my baby in my arms. I don't want him to die," Carrie cried. Her tears rolled down her face and Zachary could only wipe them away. He himself was terrified of what could happen to their child, but he had to remain calm. It was the only thing he knew how to do, besides battling.

Out behind the hospital the doctor held the new born baby in his hands. Strangely it was asleep instead of crying, despite being born less than hour before. The doctor feared for the child's health, but the health of his children was more important.

The weather outside was sunny, with a few clouds. It was rather hot for that time of the year, so it was easy to see who the person who came to pick up the baby was. The woman had a large hat and trench coat, as well as two large red "R"s for earrings. She most likely held her uniform underneath the trench coat, because for some reason they never want to take them off.

"This is the child, I presume?" the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am. This is the child of the Champion Carrie Kaelo and Runner-Up Zachary Sandrine. Please take good care of this child."

"If battling runs through genes than I will take care of this bastard as if it were my own, but for now," the woman pulled out a pokeball and released a Blissey. "My Blissey will take care of it. For your hard work, we will no longer harass your family."

The doctor nodded slowly and handed the child over to the Blissey. "And what should I say happened to the baby?"

"Are you a fucking moron? Tell them the baby died."


	2. Chapter 1

The Room was large and empty, twice the size and height of the regular gymnasium. There were no windows and only a single door out. The walls were plated with reinforced steel and the ground was concrete. On the south wall was a garage, inside was plentiful of training materials. It was guarded by a single man. He held a clipboard and took inventory of every item that came out.

"Pay attention, Mince," the instructor barked. He was a young man, not an elite member of Team Rocket, but was told to take care of the children anyways. "This isn't the first time you've been here, so it would be best if you stop gawking every time we come here."

Duke could hear the small giggling of someone to his right. He would have turned to look, but he knew movement after an order would result in punishment, and that was one thing he didn't need. The one thing he did need was proper respect, even if he got punished. "It's pronounced 'mean-see' not mince."

"Shut your mouth, Mince, if not you will be sent to the Hole. I wasn't ordered to bring you here for more physical training. Although I'd say some of you need more of it, isn't that right, Donner?"

Cesar, known as Donner to the instructor, was the youngest of the children and he was also the heaviest of them all. He was also the shortest, which made his weight all the more apparent. Cesar said that his weight was genetic, which no one really believed.

"Then why are we here?" Briana asked; not to be confused with her identical twin sister Brianna.

"If you little shits stopped interrupting me each time I spoke and paid attention I would be able to tell you, but if I hear another outburst, all of are going to the Hole," the instructor said, tapping the clipboard he had with his pen.

The kids remained silent in fear of the threat. Yes, the Hole was indeed something to fear, and it was something that the instructor was not afraid to use. A hole fifteen meters deep, sealed off from any light. Inside was a single Mightyena, if you were lucky, that chained to one side. The chain was just long enough for it to almost reach the opposite side. Unless the person wanted to fight an enraged and hungry Mightyena while covered in meat sauce, they had their backs pressed up against the wall with beast spit flying on their face.

Cesar was the first one, out of the group to go to the Hole, and he had returned many times. This was mainly due to the fact that he couldn't perform well during the physical training. He was also not very bright when it came to anything Pokémon related and was sent there as a punishment. He had also been kept in there longer for something he failed to do because he was in there.

The instructor sighed, as if what he was about to say was something he disagreed with, this was possibly the case. He never enjoyed taking care of the children, and found that any order that was meant to compliment or reward the kids was a waste of time. "Tst, well what we are doing today is getting all of you your first Pokemon." He raised his hands in the air and said, with a very monotonous voice, "Yay."

Normally this would be the part where the children turn to each other and whisper their enjoyments to each other, but only Duke and Cesar did. The twins and Jamal, or James as he prefers to be called, stood still. They were more disciplined and knew they would get first picks if they behaved. Also, despite being only six, they knew how to make the instructor do things he would normally not do by ways of subliminal pushes.

"Donner, Mince, calm down," the instructor said pitifully, already tired of dealing with the children he was in charge of. "And because you two little shits decided to become gossiping little school girls, you'll both go last." He placed two fingers to his mouth and whistled. "Alright Simon, open the door."

On the far end of the room the garage door was being pulled open and the instructor began to walk in that direction. Following him was Briana, then Brianna, then James, then Duke, and finally Cesar. When the instructor stopped, all the kids went back into their horizontal line-up with their toes firmly placed just on a white line that was painted on the floor behind the instructor.

The instructor took some time to speak to 'Simon' about the situation until the man nodded. He looked at his inventory clipboard and marked down something before he entered the garage and came back out with a large bag of pokeballs. Again there was some talking, but it was mostly small talk instead of anything important.

"Okay, twins," the instructor said, motioning with his hand for both little girls to walk over. They both were quite slim, almost anorexic, but not enough for it to be seen visibly on their faces. Their hair was quite long, down to their backs, and was a very bright, almost white, blonde color. They looked so much the same that it was impossible for anyone to tell the difference between the two. Because of the confusion this caused it had placed them in the Hole a few times.

They both reached their hands into the bag and pulled out a ball each. With a simple toss and an explosion of light a Plusle and a Minun came out, jumping and cheering like they were supposed to.

"You got to be fucking kidding me?" the instructor said in disbelief. He placed his left hand to the bridge of his nose and began to massage it. "First, your stupid guardian gave you those idiotic names, and now out of all chance you get these two? I won't accept that. Return them and choose again."

The twins nodded and returned the Cheering pokemon back to their balls before placing their hands into the bag again. Once again they removed a ball and tossed it into the air this time the pokemon were quite different. For Briana she received a Pidgey and Brianna got herself a Wooper.

"Very good, now that is much better. Keep them out; we're going to have some exercises after. Junior, you're turn."

James walked up to the bag, blushing ever so slightly from being call 'Junior.' His guardian was named Jamal and always wanted to have a son, but this was a close second. James called himself James just to spite his guardian. He didn't like being referred to as Junior, or Jamal the second, so James was a good alternative. He always wanted to grow out his hair, but was always forced to shave it all off.

With a single motion James reached in and pulled out his own pokeball. With the release a small Roggenrola came out. It seemed nervous as it just stood still. Maybe it was sleeping, but no one could really tell. This caused James to push his pokemon to the line, as it was too heavy for him to carry.

Now it was Duke's turn. He could hardly hold his enthusiasm, but he remained at the line, even if he was slightly bouncing. When he heard his name called he rushed forward and stuck his hand into the bag, rustling the balls around a bit so he could get the perfect pokemon. Once he felt confident in his grip he pulled out a pokeball and released the pokemon from its small holding. There, in front of him, his first pokemon floated and stared back at him with its single moving red eye. The Duskull snuggled up to its trainer and Duke returned the affection with a hug.

"Mince, stop rubbing yourself over the thing and get into position. Donner, your turn." Duke walked over to the other children with his new Duskull in tow.

Cesar, filled with his own excitement, went forward to get his own pokemon. He dipped his hand into the bag and removed a single ball and accidently released a Mime Jr. within the bag. It struggled and jumped out and into his arms. Cesar quickly moved to the line with everyone else with his Pokémon still in his arms.

"Everyone happy with what they got? No? Too bad," the instructor said. He looked at the kids and their matching Pokémon before he wrote down on his clipboard. "Now, because some hippie is my boss, I am supposed to inform you that if you want you can nickname your pokemon."

"Are you going to record their names?" James asked.

"No, this is something for you. It has nothing to do with Team Rocket, so hurry up and name them."

The twins looked at each other and then back at the instructor. They both believed that naming their pokemon would be a waste of time. They were taught that pokemon were a means to an end, there was no need to make them their friends.

James remained still, just as his Roggenrola. He didn't choose a name. Why? Because he didn't want to be like guardian and give it a name it does not want. If it was going to want a name it would have to choose one all by itself.

This did not apply to Duke or Cesar, as both were looking at each other for names. They rapidly shouted out names that the other could use for their Pokémon. This would have gone on for hours if the instructor had not intervened.

"Shut up both of you. If you can't choose a name, don't give it one!"

"I've got it! Skullface!" Duke shouted as soon as the instructor stopped talking. He knew it was a childish name to give a Pokémon, but he reasoned that since he was a child it shouldn't matter.

"Dots!" Cesar said soon after. His reasoning was that since it had two red dots, it should be called dots.

"You two never cease to disappoint me," the instructor sighed. "For that I should send you both to the Hole, but I can't do that until you get your first battle out of the way."

"But there are five of us, how can we have a battle? Isn't it usually one-on-one, or two-on-two?" James asked.

"Battle royal style. Winner gets a treat," the instructor said before moving over to Simon to chat some more.

The children looked at each other before Duke spoke up. "So, how are we going to do this? I mean do we-" his little speech was cut short when James ordered his Pokémon to tackle the Pidgey.

"Hey, don't attack my sister," Brianna yelled. "Now Wooper, attack." The Water Fish Pokémon nodded and blasted a spray of water from its mouth.

"No, Roggenrolla, dodge it and counter with a-" James began but ended up watching his Pokémon get blasted with the jet of water across the floor. It stood still, remaining strong thanks to its ability. James knew it wouldn't be able to take another attack like that, so he decided to ask for help. "Cesar help me out here."

"R-right" Cesar said. "C'mon Dots. Show that Wooper how it's done." Mime Jr. Saluted his trainer and moved out into the battlefield. It looked at the Wooper with a fierce determination, only to be blasted in the face with some water. "Ah, c'mon, don't just stand there Dots."

Wiping away the water from its face Dots raced forward towards the Wooper, this time narrowly dodging the second attempt at a water blast with a graceful twirl. It closed in and slammed a well-placed Confusion against the dual typing Pokémon.

The Wooper flinched from the impact, but shook it off quickly. As it prepped another attack it was hit from the side by the Roggenrolla.

"Don't think about forgetting me," James barked.

"I know I didn't," Duke said smiling. He felt confident in his Pokémon. The only ones who look like they could defeat him would be the Mime Jr. and the Wooper, but they seem to be defeating each other. "Let's do this Skullface." The ghost type swerved around a bit before launching a menacing shadow over the rock type, effectively knocking it out.

"What?!" James said as he fell to his knees. His first battle was his first lost. This made him feel awful, but he was more angry than upset. "Why did you attack me? Why not them?"

"You were an easy target, nothing personal," Duke said.

"Like you said, nothing personal, right," Cesar said as Dots fired off Confusion, this time at the Duskull. It took the hit relatively well, but did lower to the ground slightly. "C'mon, Duke, do you want that reward or not?"

While that conversation was going on the twins combined their attacking power and with a one-two strike of a water gun and Tackle, the poor Mime Jr. was knocked out.

"No fair. You can't do that. I wasn't paying attention," Cesar complained.

"Hah," Duke laughed. "You can't keep your eyes off a battle. If not you miss the important things."

"Like this," Brianna asked as her Wooper blasted a concentration of water at his Pokémon.

Duke didn't like this team up. He could only hit one of them, and in order to win, he would need to get them to attack each other, except he didn't know how. While he was busy thinking another blast of water came his way. "Dodge," he yelled a little late. The Duskull was able to get out of the way of the blast, mostly. It had been hit slightly on its side.

"Maybe if you think faster you might be able to win, unfortunately you can't," Briana said as her Pidgey remained in the background.

"Oh yeah, well how do like this? Skullface, attack Briana!" Duke shouted. The Duskull prepped for another attack when the Wooper rushed in and fired a Water Gun straight in the ghost's face, knocking it out before it could attack.

"What the hell?" Briana yelled. "You were going to attack me and not my Pokémon? You know you can't do that?"

"What an idiot he doesn't even know how to battle properly," Brianna said smugly.

"Shut up! In a battle it doesn't matter who gets attacked as long as you bring victory," Duke said. "This isn't league regulated battles. These are battles for the glory of Team Rocket."

James walked over to the ranting Duke and punched him right across the face, which sent the young boy to the ground. "Glory is not something you can just get by killing people. It is the respect you get by defeating your opponents. People need to see Team Rocket as a beacon of hope, wonder, and opportunity, not just a bunch of thugs going around killing people."

"But we are already seen as just a bunch of thugs," Cesar said. He knelt down next to Duke to help him up. "There isn't much we can do to change that fact."

"Well only Interpol sees us as a threat; most of the general public doesn't even know we exist. All that will change once Operation Phase 2 is set into action," James said. "I haven't heard much of the details, but once it's complete all of Kanto, no, the world, will know we exist. And is it goes well will be seen as just that."

"And if it goes wrong, will we be seen as we are?" Briana asked. "Because that will surely push back our attempts in our big plan." She paused and opened her mouth once before stopping again to think on what she had to say. "What is the big plan anyways? They never tell us anything besides that it's big."

"Hey, you shits," the instructor yelled, cutting off their discussion and attention from each other. "Why are you just standing around and talking? I thought I told you to battle. From what I can see it looks like there are two Pokémon still able to battle. Any reason that is?"

"It's because I surrendered," Brianna said. "My sister is just too much stronger than I am."

"Well, that sure was disappointing," the instructor said with a shake of his head. He walked up to Brianna and grabbed a fistful of hair near her roots before he lifted her off the ground. She cried in pain and wiggled to get free to no avail. "Other twin, knock her Pokémon out, and do it fast unless you want your sister to suffer more."

Briana glared at the instructor. She knew the man could be a heartless bastard, but he attacked her sister, which was one thing she could not forgive. "Pidgey, defend my sister." The flying type rushed off the ground and charged at the man before it was knocked down by a Krokorok that had escaped its pokeball to defend its trainer.

"Unbelievably pathetic," the instructor spat and threw Brianna at Briana. The twins cuddled up with each other for some comfort. "Since you can't follow orders, I guess you both will be sent to the hole."

"No!" the twins screamed in unison.

"Please sir, you can't do that. You know they are close and will defend each other," Cesar said as he stood up in their defense.

"Do you want to go to the Hole too? I'm sure we can fit three bodies in there, although I'm not sure all of you may come out uninjured, or alive for that matter."

Cesar took a step back. "I-I am sorry. I won't speak up again."

"I will," Duke said. He was done feeling sorry and that punch had ignited a sense of anger he had not felt before. "You're a shitty instructor. Your lessons could be learned by walking down an empty street. You hold no authority here and you don't even have a fully evolved Pokémon on your team." He stood up and dusted himself slightly before his weakened Duskull floated next to him. "I dare you to send me to the Hole, unless you feel like peeing your pants."

The instructor was baffled. None of the children ever spoke to him that way, but that moment of surprise turned into anger that multiplied itself fiftyfold. "You insolent," the instructor delivered a right hook to Duke's jaw, sending him to the ground, barely conscious, "little," he slammed his boot into Duke's back, "shit," and ended up kicking him twice in the ribs.

"Sending you to the hole will make you feel better, but I'm not feeling kind at all today. In fact I'm going to send all of you to the hole. And as an extra punishment, instead of twelve hours, you'll all have twenty-four hours to rethink your behavior. Have fun."


	3. Chapter 2

The sun had just reached its height of the day and Duke had just gotten out of his bed. Three hours had gone by since they dragged him out of the Hole. The doctors had told him to rest as his injuries could reopen and due to the severity would not close fast. He knew that they lied to him; he couldn't have been injured as bad as they tried to make it seem. Bandages wrapped around his arms and a few patches on his back to cover those wounds, but he could still walk just fine.

He thought back about what had happened in the hole. Only Briana and Cesar got out of it unharmed physically. Brianna had a shallow scratch down her chest. Duke received his injury when he jumped in front to protect them. The reason his injuries weren't severe was because James pulled him away to step in himself.

James, despite his young age and size, held back the Mightyena. To see his friend become a ragdoll for the Pokémon terrified Duke. James' arms broke by the jaws strength, his body bled by the ripping claws, and his face turned into a chew toy for half an hour. The fact that he survived the entire thing felt like a miracle and a blessing.

Duke's hands flew to his head as he tried to stop himself from remembering the events. He did not know why he tried to think back about that time. The events kept him afraid, but worse, it made him angry. Angry at himself for not being strong enough to help James kick the Pokémon back. Angry at Cesar for holding him back from helping. Angry at the twins for doing nothing but protect themselves. He directed most of his anger at his instructor for placing them in the Hole for something so stupid. In that boiled fury he struck out against the wall.

"Don't hit the wall, you idiot," a large breasted woman said as she walked out of the bathroom naked. The steam from the shower crept out from the door. Her red hair stuck to her back as she did nothing to dry it.

Duke stared at her, disgusted that she would talk to him that way, but of course she had the right to, so he said nothing. To him, she was his caretaker, his adoptive mother, his guardian, but mostly Rocket Woman Number Three, RWNT for short. She makes him call her that as she deems it disrespectful that a 'sniveling pathetic brat of a child' could even utter her name. Her real name was Delilah, but he never had the courage to say it.

"What are you doing?" Delilah asked before she proceeded to deliver a kick to his forehead. Duke fell back, smacked his head against the wall, and then fell forward. His head spun and he could see the starry vision of the ground.

"I thought I told you to never gaze upon my beautiful body, you moronic brat. You are to turn around and stare at the wall until I am dressed, or did getting hurt somehow reduced your already pathetically low level of intellect?"

Duke tried to shake off the effects of the double whammy on his head when he felt the cold pokes of toes on his face. His face turned red and he could feel his body beginning to heat up. He tried to lift himself off the ground, but his head kept his movements from coordinating in the proper manner.

"You are supposed to be standing and looking at the wall, twerp. I did not give you permission to worship my feet, you sick child."

"I don't think you poking me with your toes counts as worshipping your feet," Duke replied. When his head gained a few more motor functions, he pushed himself to his knees. He kept his eyes closed so she couldn't scold him for looking at her body.

Delilah scowled at the rebellion that Duke began. She didn't like him as he became her child without her consent, but he still belonged to her and she needed to remain obedient. She considered that his age did not meet the requirements to begin such a rebellion and felt the need to correct it. She placed her foot upon his face and pushed him back until his head touched the wall.

"If you continue with that mouth you'll see what counts as worship and my feet will be the only things you see."

Duke froze. He could feel the sparkling clean, yet dirty feeling, foot on his face. Her feet carried the aroma of daisies, and yet it made him want to puke. The realization that his guardian had freaky fetishes that she displayed so openly and often pushed it on him caused his stomach to turn. He would have to remain silent if he wished for this encounter to disappear soon.

Delilah removed her foot and looked at the boy. The grin on her face gave no other impression than that of joy, joy of breaking the rebellious spirt of her child. The restoration of her pride further increased the grin into an all-out smile.

"Well, now that you are listening again, why don't you stand up and face the wall, unless you want another beating."

Duke nodded in agreement. His unstable body wobbled back and forth as he came off the ground. He could feel the sway of his head as he stood erect. In a quick single action he turned and faced the wall. He then opened his eyes, keeping it focused on a single dot he had made himself so that he would not lose focus.

His eyes concentrated on his dot, ignoring the noise from Delilah. To pass the time he thought about James and what he could do to make him feel better. He could always bring the child his Pokémon, but he knew one of the others would have already done that. Although he couldn't find a reason to bring it since James and the Roggenrolla did not have a connection.

He thought about getting James some flowers, but then again it didn't seem like a good idea. Flowers were given when people were close and Duke had no close connections to anyone on his so-called "team", except for perhaps Cesar. Candy seemed like a good second option, but James did not eat sweets, his father forbad such harming food. The more Duke though about a good gift to give to his injured comrade the more it bothered him that he couldn't think of anything.

Once again he slammed his fist into the wall, opening a wound on his arm. The disorganization of the team was caused by everyone's different goals. Brianna and Brianna's goal aimed to protect themselves. Cesar's goal aimed to protect his only friend. James fought for everyone, as he proved during the time in the Hole, but no one stopped to think about that. This led Duke to think back about all the other times that child did something for the team at expense of his own well-being.

"I'm not weak," Duke yelled as his right fist connected with the wall. He continued to yell with each phrase he delivered a punch to the wall. This opened up both wounds on his arms. The blood began to show through the white bandages on his arms. He tried to ignore the obvious pain to utter failure. He dropped to his knees and let the tears stroll down his face as his hands went numb.

"Don't yell like that," Delilah said with a whack of the hand on the back of Duke's head. "Some people might get the wrong idea. Actually they probably won't care. In fact I don't care why you're yelling, what's bothering me is that you are yelling. So stop it, or else."

Duke turned his head and glared at his mother. She had her signature "R" earrings in her hands as she placed them on. Her hair, tied into a tight bun, hid under the standard black hat. Duke strived to obtain that hat above all else. The symbol of the hat signified a full-fledged member of Team Rocket, but for the instant he just needed to wait.

"What's with that look," Delilah asked as she double checked her earrings to make sure they wouldn't all of once she went into the field. "Do I need to give you another lesson?"

On instinct Duke looked down at her feet in fear of another foot thing. He found it strange that she would wear high heels if she were to go out into the field. They seemed like impractical footwear, but he did not need to wear them, so he didn't care.

"Looking at my feet again? Are you sure you don't want to worship them?" Delilah asked. She lifted her left foot and placed near Duke's face. The foot crept so close he could smell her once again. He turned his head away, not wanting to continue to smell anything closely related to her.

"Humph," Delilah said, insulted by the fact he would turn his face away from her. Nevertheless she ignored it as she had somewhere to be and if she continued wasting her time on that child she would end up late. "Fine. Just to let you know I'll be busy and might not come back for a few days. Spend some time with your Pokémon, or whatever you find amusing."

Duke stood at attention when his mother walked out the door, something that has grown to become a habit. He wanted to break that habit, but being so young it would take considerable amount of willpower to break free, especially since it could be enforced at any moment.

Once safe and free from the prying eyes of his adoptive mother, Duke went in the bathroom. The towel laid on the ground and water puddles popped up everywhere. He knew he would have been yelled at if he left the bathroom that way so he did not understand why she was able to do it. The double standard angered him.

He walked to the counter to look in the mirror. His size became a disadvantage for him here, as it did everywhere. He heard that the twins had their own special mirror, James had a stepping stool to look in the mirror, and Cesar, well, he didn't get to have a mirror. He climbed onto the counter, almost falling once.

He looked at the mirror, but the fog from the steam of the shower still covered it. He used his hand to wipe a small circle to see his face. Despite not having a special mirror like the twins he was still vain. In the small clearing he had made he checked his face. Clean as he had expected, except for a few stray pink hairs that landed on his face. He pushed his face closer to the mirror to check for any facial hair. He wanted to have some so he could look like Mr. Donner.

Mr. Donner, the adoptive father of Cesar, had little control of his anger. He would burst into a rage at the littlest of things, but his facial hair made him look awesome. Duke made the connection that the long beard he grew gave Mr. Donner an advantage on his missions, like infiltration.

"That's it!" Duke said as he almost fell off the counter from his excitement. He regained his balance before continuing. "I'll be like Mr. Donner and when my beard grows in we will be a team of unstoppableness."

He sat down and proceeded to jump off. When his feet touched the ground they hit a small leftover puddle and fell down. He saved his head from smashing against the floor this time. He had enough injuries and didn't feel the need for more.

Once back on his feet he headed towards a small cabinet, one close to the ground specific for him. Inside of it held medical necessities that he needed for his arms. He removed the bandages with care from his arms, not wanting to cause more pain to himself, and tossed them at the trash; he missed. His arms had stopped bleeding from being reopened, but he still needed to clean the dried blood that had seeped out. He grabbed a washcloth, some hydrogen peroxide, and began to wipe away the blood, after he reapplied the bandaging around his arms nice and tight. He did not worry about the wounds on his back opening as he knew he would not be able to clean it or close it again.

He walked out of the bathroom and went to his room. Once inside he searched his closet for a clean pair of clothes. He still needed to see his "friend" that rested in the medical bay. He changed into his white training Rocket uniform and headed out.

"Oh, hello there small one," a tall Rocket grunt said to a surprised Duke. The door had only just opened and she was standing right there. By the look on her face Duke assumed she was waiting nervously for a few minutes.

"H-hello," Duke replied.

"You must be Duke. I've heard a lot about from my precious twins," she said with a calm smile before her voiced became quite and filled with icy venom that made him want to jump down in the Hole. "If you ever endanger the lives my girls again because of some stupid ego trip of yours, I will personally skin you alive and then mount your ass on my wall."

Duke couldn't help but shudder at the words. He knew the twins mother overprotective, but never to the point of scaring him like this. He didn't want to pee his pants and angering her would felt like a bad idea. All his strength went into a single nod, afraid that he would have died if he had done anything else.

"Good," the woman said, her voice reverted back to the cheerful caring voice. "I came to see if Delilah left for her mission or not, and from the lack of yelling, I think she already did." She sighed and shook her head, before she pulled a pokeball from her waist. "I also came to give you this. Apparently Brianna thought you could use a little cheering up." She handed him the ball before she walked away.

The encounter perplexed Duke, unsure of what to feel. He didn't know what to find weirder, the fact that someone was looking for his mother or that Brianna wanted him to have a pokeball. He pressed the open button and tossed the ball a few feet in front of him. In a flash of bright white light a Duskull floated around. "Skullface!" Duke ran to the Pokémon and gave it a hug.

"Dus, Dus," the ghost type cheered. It hugged back its owner with the same amount of affection.

"Come on Skullface," Duke said as he picked up the pokeball from the ground. "We need to visit James and apologize for placing him in that situation."


	4. Chapter 3

Duke stood still as his eyes leaked the salty substance of tears. Instead of wearing his normal trainee uniform he was in a funeral garb. He couldn't understand what was happening, everything just became normal again. James had left the hospital four months prior and was healing well. Their team had gotten back together and the instructor had become a little more lenient.

"Damn it," he said. He tried to wipe his tears away with one hand the snot with the other. He could hear other people crying too, but he dared not show his face with weakness. That was something he had learned.

"Quit your sniveling," Delilah said after hitting him on the head. She held her head high and stared straight at the coffin being lowered. "And show some respect to the dead."

Duke looked up at his mother and saw that she had let some of her tears seep out and looked back down in shame. He forgot that he wasn't the only one affected by this. With the sleeve of his right arm he wiped away all his tears. _She's right, _he thought, _I need to show the respect that he deserves._

As he raised his head he caught a glimpse of the other children. Briana and Brianna stood in front of their mother. Both their faces were as cold as stone, as if they did not even care about the funeral, this lack of caring enraged him to a point of shaking. It took all he had to prevent himself from running over there and punching them in the face.

To the right of them he could see Cesar, and like most of the other times, he did not let him down. The tears ran down his face like a waterfall. The poor boy was on his knees, but Duke could not hear the screams that were coming from his mouth. The silent screaming was a perplexing situation until he saw Cesar's father, Mr. Donner. He knew for a fact that the bearded man did not like hearing the boy he had to take care of. The more he thought about it the more he could never find a single instance where he had heard anything good from the relationship between Cesar and Mr. Donner.

Duke's eyes drifted to the face of the overly large man. It was cold and stern. His eyes never drew their focus away from the grave. He looked exactly like the twins. Duke shook his head. It was impossible for him to look like the twins. This man had more respect for the dead man in the grave. He was simply avoiding showing any emotion to not disrespect what this man had done. It was the only explanation.

"Wandering eyes get plucked out," Delilah warned.

Duke snapped his head straight. His eyes now looked upon the grave of the dead man once again. This time there was an extra person, the son of the deceased. He was wearing the same suit his father wore when he was alive. The smile on his face was a smug one. One could easily mistake father and son as the same person, except for the size; this one was a little smaller.

The man took a shovel and stuck it into the dirt that covered the coffin. There were small gasps coming from the crowd, including Duke. It was clear that the man needed to show his dominance over the people.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Team Rocket," the man said. His voice echoed throughout the entirety of the graveyard. "Our leader has died. This is a sad moment for our group, but I, Giovanni, the only heir to the throne of Team Rocket, am here to take his place." He took a few steps back and sat down on the tombstone of his father. "I am not my father. He did not have a vision. Under his rule Team Rocket has grown complacent and weak. I have a plan that will ensure further profits for us. For those who do not wish to stay, then leave. I do not need idiots who think that they know better. In fact we will be issuing a new order to try to recruit as many new members as possible. As our numbers swell, so will our strength and profit."

Duke stopped listening as Giovanni continued his long-winded speech. He just couldn't understand why the man needed to talk so much. Sure, being in charge of a criminal organization is quite difficult and he would need the support of the organization before he does anything, but talking was a waste of time.

He tilted his head up to see what Delilah thought of this, and to his surprise she was smiling; eating up his every word as if she belonged to some cult. This bothered him a great deal and he wouldn't stand for it, but for now he had to.

He turned his head to check out the other people and with another surprise most of everyone there had the same look on their faces. It was outrageous. Were these people really so willfully blind that they'd ignore their old leader for a man who has only been talk? Even his own teammates were taken up by his spell. He could hear chanting as a background noise only for it to become louder and more prominent. They were cheering for Giovanni, the 'great' new leader.

His anger swelled within him and his face turned red. He knew better than to let his anger show, but this was too much. He didn't care who saw him or what they thought, he was going to show his disapproval even if it would cost him his chances of rising in the ranks.

* * *

"What was that about?" Duke slammed Cesar into the nearest wall, knocking the breath out of him. Without a chance to explain, Duke slammed Cesar into the wall again.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Duke." The boy replied.

"How about the fact that you and everyone else seems to be hypnotized by what the Gio guy was saying. Have you forgotten what our last leader stood for? This guy is a total joke. I can already tell that he is going to ruin Team Rocket with his idiotic plans."

"C-calm down, Duke." Cesar looked around, but it seemed like no one stopped or looked in their direction. "Someone might hear you, and if that happens they'll kick you out, or worse."

Duke grunted once and slammed Cesar into the wall one last time before he removed his hands from the shirt. He turned away, unable to look at his friend in the eyes; it was just too painful for him to even consider that his friend was a blind follower.

"Listen, Duke," Cesar began. "I know this is hard for you. I know that you had strong feelings toward the boss." Duke shot him a glare that made him take a step back. "I-I mean, you wanted him to live, everyone did, but the fact is he's dead. Giovanni seems like he could do good. I already checked with the twins and James, they both said that he is going to be a great leader. And the fact that most of our parents also agree means that we can't be wrong."

Duke inattentively listened to his chubby friend while he ran his fingers through his hair. "Wait, what?" he asked. "You said most of our parents. I know my mom and the twins mother both like the man, but I don't know about the other two. Who is it?"

"Well, I," Cesar rubbed the back of his head and looked away. "It's, it's just that…"

"Stop holding out on me! We're both friends here. Why are you trying to keep this a secret from me?"

"It's my father," Cesar shouted. At the realization at what he had just done he placed his hands over his mouth so fast that he actually slapped himself. "Please, Duke, don't do this."

"Don't do what?" Duke asked with a smile. "I have to talk to your father. He shares my views, maybe he can help me decipher them."

"No, Duke, please. It's a bad idea. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone how he felt about this. If you tell him I could get beat again. Think about the well-being of your friend."

"You're right," Duke admitted. "I'll just lie and say that I could read his face." He laughed and ran off before Cesar could do anything to stop him.

"Ah man, ah man, ah man," Cesar said to himself. He lowered himself to the floor as slow as he possibly could. He knew he was going to get in trouble and had no way out. There was a chance that he would hold this against Duke, but he knew if he did it wouldn't last for long.

* * *

"Mr. Donner, Mr. Donner," Duke yelled as he ran up to the tall bearded man. He stopped three feet away from him. The tall man looked even more menacing up close than he did far away and it was Duke's first time being this close; he got the chills.

"Uh runt," Mr. Donner dictated as he saw the young boy reach him. "And ah reckon, by da looks of yor hair dat yor one of dose fags. Yeah, Imma call ya 'Fag' from now on."

Duke felt the blood run to his cheeks and the corners of his mouth rise. He felt like a giddy little school girl. He just received a nickname from the person he most admired. Sure, he didn't know what the word meant, but nicknames meant that you were close to one another and were never derogatory.

"Kay, Fag, what was all dat yellin' for? Shorley it ain't for muh autograph."

"O-oh, right," Duke laughed. "I was at the funeral and I noticed that you weren't practically happy about the new boss. N-not that that is a bad thing," he said as soon as he noticed the scorn look on Mr. Donner's face. "In fact I think we share the same views."

"Dat whale of a child told ya, didn't he?" Mr. Donner moved his large hand and placed it on top of Duke's skull. "Ya can tell dat child he's as good as dead."

"N-no, sir," Duke squeaked. "He didn't tell me anything. I was at the funeral and I saw the look on your face. It reminded me of my own."

Mr. Donner began to squeeze the boy's skull as he talked. "Don't try ta hide what he did. I have eyes erywhere. I been told what he said and ya shouldn't try ta save 'im. If ya do, I'll cut ya down just like I'll do ta 'im." He released his grip on Duke's head and pushed him back.

"I'm sorry sir, but he's my friend and I won't stand by while you beat him," Duke said, straightening out his hair. He took a large breath in as he saw the face of the man turn sour. "I'll stand against you even if I have to die. That is my resolve, let's see you match that."

Mr. Donner's sour face turned stone and uncaring before it flipped into a smile, and then into a laughter. "Sucka Punch." Before Duke could respond to the strange choice of words a previously invisible fist materialized in his gut and knocked him to the ground. "Listen, Fag, yor resolve ain't nothing compared ta mine. Ya get in mah way again and I'll kill ya." He turned on his heel and walked away. In his shadow Duke could see a strange and ominous smile.

"Mr. Donner," Duke whispered to himself. "You can beat Cesar all you want, but the fact is we still share the same views." He grunted as he stood up from the ground. "We are going to need each other and when you ask for help, I'll smile down on you and offer a hand." He moved in the opposite direction of the bearded man and headed towards Cesar's location. "I respect you, and the fact that you gave me a nickname means you respect me too. Too bad you let yourself be blinded by the fact that I'm only a child. You will become my stepping stone."


End file.
